Does anyone know if this car has any interesting history?

hi,
We have a 48 fiat that looks like it may have had some kinda history about it. Because it has a cutout in the body that looks like a blower belt area. We bought this car without a motor or trans and after about a year put a decent engine in it to play around with it and ended up borrowing it. We have never raced it and it has been in the garage for atleast 10 years. The only thing we have done is drive it to a cruise in town and two car shows and i drove it to high school one sunny day.
The car may not have history but we have always felt there was a possiblity. It has the spindle front wheels and 60's style wheels. Halibraid's(sp?) on back.
the body lifts up at the front like a funny car ans has an aluminum prop.
anyway, any info i can get would be really cool.
thanks
Also the name on the side is "Rated X"

 

Cool find.....

 

It's a "Bad-*** Altered" that's history enough for me

 

What`s wrong with you? Get that thing out and have some fun! Life`s too short. Very cool!!!

 

If it has any interesting history ?? For sure !! ... Pretty obvious, ain`t it ??? ... NICE Topolino !!! Take well care of it
Klaz

 

you know there are some of us trying to s****e together parts to build one of those things...

and you've got one in the corner- just sitting there?!?!

love those little rodents

 

Well, it looks like its been around for awhile, that's for sure....

 

Nice car! Is it an all gl*** body or gutted stock steel?

 

hi,
Until running into this site and looking at the old altereds and g***ers we actually didn't pay much attention to the fiat. We have been talking about getting it back out. Getting it back together would be simple, it is so easy to work on, no bolt is hard to get to.
We have been debating on which engine would be the coolest. Any body have a suggestion? bbc or sbc or whatever.

The body is all gl***. It is fairly easy to raise the body up to the prop. The body is great quality for strength.

Also, i figured it had a history, i was just hoping someone may have remembered seeing it. We never got to see it race. A guy had bought it and parted it and that was left was car rolling. No parachute or engine or trans. or safety equipement. We did however get the wheelie bars with it.
I should probably finish this car since it is so close before starting on
the 33 dodge. That would help where we have so many projects unfinished.

Anyway, thanks for you alls comments. It helps motivate us. Right now it is only me and dad and he generally works 60 plus hours a week 1st shift and i work 40 hrs 2nd shift and that really screws with our projects. We are hardly ever off at the same time.
I will try to find some better pics of it with the body up and with an engine and post tomarrow.

 

My vote is for a 392 hemi, blown of course! I'm glad you found this site too. My suggestion would be to gt it to the local shows or dragstrips, someone will recognise it. Or better yet, make something up!

 

I say give it to me. I'll put my 671 blown fuel burning MEL in it. I getting close to having all the parts for the engine. Just some machine wrok, etc to do.

Beep

 

Tell you what , I'll give you $100 cash American for it and you won't have to worry about it's history. Hee Hee. The Mondello /Matsubara Fiat was found recently and is undergoing restoration along with Glen Way's Groundshaker Jr. . Fuel Altereds Forever!

 

i say bbc with hilborn...im inparcial because thats what mine has...also its all steel ..... ya im bragging

 

When you get time, roll it out and take some good shots of it, side nose & tail. Do you know were it ran? that should help get some history on it. Only problem I can see is desiding what color to paint the 392 Hemi block.

 

I say two words......HAMBDRAGS! End of August or thereabouts, Joplin Missouri. Be there.

 

Bought by a Native woman in 1930 to ferry teachers to and from the city to the rez.
retired in 1957 (warped head)with 73k miles and never saw a paved road.
Bought at an estate sale in 1958 for $100 and left in barn.
I dug it out in 2000.
I am the 3rd owner and have ever piece of paper for it. Will be only the second driver.

 

Yea thats history alright and its screamin at you- Please bring me back to life-so I can make some more!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That could be a ton of fun or dangerous as hell, either way its gonna make your heart rate go up and that as we all know is good for you,right?

 

My observations from a point of complete ignorance:

The cage is relatively modern since it is six point rather than three point. That doesn't mean the car was recently constructed. It only means it was updated if it is an older car.

The notch in the hood may well have been for a blower pulley, but if it was, the hood scoop was added afterwards. There isn't enough room for the injector and blower scoop or an injector hat to stick up above the presumed pulley notch. The notch may have been to clear something else.

The cage will need a few more upgrades to go racing if it goes quick enough to require a certified ch***is. Put a flathead in it and you won't have to worry about certifying.

That car needs to go racing.

 

Is it finished inside with aluminum? Where did you find it/buy it? Can you trace it back to Canada? There is a member of our car club who raced a Fiat in the 60's that was well known. It was sponsored by Karbelt Speed and Custom. The car itself was called Percy. It held a number of NHRA records and won a few awards on the ISCA circuit. If I recall correctly though, Percy was painted red.

 

Take it to the Hot rod reunion in bowling green in june and someone will identify the car for you. There are several there every year.

 

snap too funny you should mention the Mondello car. Saw it on a trailer about 4AM in pkg lot of Texas visitor center on I 35 just this side of the OK border on my way to the HAMB drags this year. Was asleep in my truck, kinda woke up looked out saw a parked white Suburban with a trailer with a bunch of stuff,on it, saw a 32 frame on top, older guywalking around. Got up, cause he was parked next to my roadster, talked to the guy @ length, he had the Mondello car on the back of the trailer. He was headed to Austin to drop off the 32 frame, San Antonio to drop off the two 3x2 409s, etcetcetc, then to California to drop off the Mondello car. Forgot who he said was going to restore the car. Hauler was from Boston but had some Oklahoma connection. Showed me a bunch of cool stuff he was hauling, had the Suburban stuffed as well as the trailer. Kind of a surreal experience but definitely cool.
Oh yeah, didn't mean to hijack your post, that is a very nice find, get her going, blown Hemi!!

 

Cool ride, my Uncle posted an ad on http://g***ermadness.com/ for info on his 51 Crown Vic and had luck finding it (not good luck, the car was destroyed) It's a really good site for information on G***ers.

 

Blown hilborn 2 port injected small block. Lots of them had that setup back in the day. Its cheap compared to a hemi, reliable, and drips nostalga.

 

Hemi, because they are bad *** and authentic to a lot of fuel altereds.

SBC, because it will go fast, live forever, is cheap, and will keep you occupied. And of course, a lot of TFAs ran them...

Sweet find. And being a gl*** body, of course it has history - it was never a street car. Go to www.g***ermadness.com and tell the site owner that you have a "found" car for his Lost and Found section. From time to time people will p*** through there and post up info they have on old drag cars.

Good luck man, you need to do something with that. If you don't, you're just saving it for the next guy...

 

fire it up christmas morning at around 0700...

 

Looks to me like it has some- scary fast history to it

 

What a waste of ten years.Send that damn thing to me in Ok and I'll make my own damn history with it.LOL

T.OUT

 

While looking through a photographers book at a drag strip in Clay City Ky which is just about 25 miles from the house We found a picture that had been taken of the fiat when raced there. But that was in the 90's. We were able to have the guy blow the picture up to an 8X10 and mail it to us. The picture was cool. The front tires were about 8 inches in the air leaving the line. We have been trying to dig the picture up but not having much luck.
I planned on washing it off and taking a good picture today but the 33 took most of today's time. Maybe tomarrow things will work out.
Thank you all for your good advise comments.
Bo

 

heres a shot from clay city ....recognize the willys.....the wagon is randall campbell's old car....brandon

 

Let's hear the story about driving that thing to high school!